Emergency Managers

The assistance provided for the purpose of helping the victims of a disaster rebuild their homes to the same living conditions they had lived in before the disaster, FEMA assisted 130,000 middle income and low income families rebuild after the Northridge earthquake (Eugene, 2010). FEMA also assisted with the coordinated the response of 27 federal agencies that were involved in the recovery process. The FEMA United States Fire Administration student manual “ICS-300: Intermediate ICS for Expanding Incidents” (2013) refers to this type of command structure within the Incident Command System is defined as a “Unified Command”. The Unified Command type of management system allows for multiple agencies to work together to plan and strategize but most importantly to be able to collect resources from each agency without having to go through extra steps. This coordination was said to have had a huge benefit by being able to get the funding for repairs and to be able to decrease the time frames set to repair and rebuild the infrastructure (highways and roadways) needed to the get the city moving again. (DeBlasio et al,.

Also, there are some challenges involves in mobilizing and deploying response teams in some special incidents. For instance, during the 2010 Deepwater Horizon (DWH) Incident, there were reports of “some delay in achieving a fully functioning, effective and efficient Incident Command System” (Florida Commission on Oil Spill Response Coordination, 2012, P.33). As such some questions like why should city emergency management personnel use the National Incident Management System rather than developing their own command and control system often arises. This paper will try to answer or clarify this question by examining the advantages and disadvantages of the NIMS; endeavor to see if there is any advantages and disadvantages, of developing and using an ad hoc system to manage emergency; And then compare the advantages and disadvantages both systems; finally try to justify the use of the National Incident Management System as opposed to emergency management personnel developing an ad hoc command system for each individual emergency or disaster situation.

Natural and man-made disasters have increased in the past decade, and due to these changes, Emergency Managers had to make drastic changes in order to improve the way first responders operate in a disaster area.

Two specific areas of concern are noted in the majority of studies conducted. The first area of concern was that there was not a clear delineation of roles and responsibilities or organizational leaders (Haddow et al., 2014, p. 322). Since this event this has been an area that has shown considerable improvement. This has been accomplished through the use of NIMS and collaborative efforts of first responder leaders to craft an all hazards model of response. By doing both of these things, partner agencies are better able to fold into the rescue

Communication is also very critical in the case of a catastrophic event. Thus, the first respondent need to be a good communicator for communication is an essential part in response to a catastrophic event (Pope, 2005). It is also the responsibility of the first respondent to have a practical plan to implement in case an emergency erupted following the catastrophic event. The aftermath of a catastrophic event is highly unpredictable and emergencies cannot be overlooked. It is, therefore, the

The Engaged Partnership refers to the leaders at all levels, the whole community/international partners, work together to develop response collective goals and aligned capabilities. Tiered Response is where the incidents are handled at the lowest jurisdiction/levels (such as local authorities), supported by any additional – higher entities when necessary or needed. The third principle covers the Scalable, Flexible, and Adaptable Operational Capabilities that are implemented as incidents change and evolve so that the responders are able to rapidly meet the challenges/changes to any situation. “National response protocols are structured to provide tiered levels of support when additional resources or capabilities are needed”. (NRF 2013, 6). The Unity of Effort through a Unified Command is the state of coordinating efforts among multiple organizations, which reduces duplication of effort and helps achieve the common objective. The Incident Command System (ICS) is a vital element in ensuring interoperability across ‘multi-jurisdictional or multi-agency’ incident management/leaders. The fifth and final key principle is Readiness to Act which is just that; individuals, local, state, and federal authorities being prepared to act upon and react to any type of disaster situation. An effective response is a balancing act of the understanding of the risks and hazards that the responders may encounter and the ability to act decisively. These principles mirror

When an incident occurs within the United States, the Incident Command System (ICS) is brought into action. The ICS process serves as a management system designed to provide an effective incident management structure by way of combining facilities, personnel, equipment, operating procedures, communications and operational standards. The ICS is not a flawless system, however its flexible design allows for adaptation and change. During Hurricane Sandy, the ICS was implemented with mixed results. More than 28,000 personnel were utilized for the response and recovery efforts from that hurricane. It was the Incident Command System that served as coordinating guidance for facilitating the organizational structure for the hurricane Sandy response

The National Incident Management System (NIMS) was put into place after 9/11 and is the standard for all first responders when dealing with large scale events (NIMS, 2014). The Incident Command System (ICS) is the structure for the NIMS and establishes separate but unified sections and divisions to include operations, a commander, logistics, plans and finance (NIMS, 2014)). The ICS can grow or shrink depending on the size and scale of the event. The term “Span of Control” implies that within the ICS, any individual with a supervisory position should oversee 3 to 7 subordinates. The “span of control is key to effective and efficient incident management” (ICS Resource Center, 2008 p 3).

As the Disaster Coordinator for the city I am responsible for ensuring the public safety and welfare of the citizens within the city's jurisdiction. This requires me to have a full understanding on my role and responsibilities for managing disaster response and employing resources in order to save lives, protect property, the environment. Additionally I’m tasked to preserve the less tangible but equally important social, economic and political structures. My first reaction was to alert the regional Joint Terrorism Task Force to prepare them for possible activation. Next it is vital to gain situational awareness and develop a Common Operating Picture (COP). This COP is the who, what, where, when and how as it relates to the incident. Situational awareness starts at the incident site and includes continuous monitoring of reporting channels to gain

It is vital for officials from all levels of emergency management to collaborate and communicate effectively as they strive to deliver timely response services and effective disaster relief efforts. Otherwise, delays can occur from any number of agencies when responding to disasters. In addition, it is vital to maintain updated contact information for each organization that will be part of the emergency management planning and hold regular meetings with the representatives of each organization (Margaris,

(NIMS Core 2008). The ICS is a management system designed to help enable a more effective and efficient incident management system by combining personnel, equipment, procedures, facilities, and communications operating within a common organizational structure. FEMA lists the five major function areas: command, operations, planning, logistics, intelligence and investigations, finance and administration. “It is a fundamental form of management, with the purpose of enabling incident managers to identify the key concerns associated with the incident—often under urgent conditions—without sacrificing attention to any component of the command system”. (FEMA 2015). The command structure could either be single or unified, depending on jurisdiction. It would seem that the discussion on the command structure prescribed by the NIMS cannot be expounded upon without the ICS which is the combination of personnel, procedures, equipment, facilities, and communications that operate within a common organizational structure, designed to aid in domestic incident management activities. (NIMS – ICS

Today, the Incident Command System (ICS) is a major component of NIMS and is widely used in emergency management response. However, this was not always the case. According to David A. McEntire and Gregg Dawson, authors of the article, “The intergovernmental Context,” ICS was originally developed by the fire service in 1970. Its purpose was to assist in the command of wildfire events. It was unique because it standardized operations, yet offered flexibility so that it could be used on any number of events, regardless of size or type (McEntire & Dawson, 2007, p. 63).

The burden of emergency management has grown great deal in the last few decades. We have seen an increase in natural disasters, a new threat of terrorism on our front door and an increase in manmade disasters. All of these have tested emergency management in a number of cities and towns across the nation. It is not always disasters that present problems for emergency managers. We have to look beyond our traditional view of emergency management of helping us during times of disasters and view what issues they consider may affect their emergency response. Issues that emergency management see that are moving into the critical area are issues of urbanization and hazard exposure, the rising costs of disaster recovery, and low priority of emergency management.

Communication is widely regarded as one of the most essential elements in successfully managing an emergency situation. The dissemination of information, which is both timely as well as accurate, to the parties concerned goes a long way to lend a hand in ensuring that the recovery activities in an emergency situation, together with its management takes place effectively. For that reason, five critical assumptions are used to provide the basis of disaster management strategy.

The Incident Command System provides a tentative framework for the management of disasters across the country. The system is flexible to adapt to the particular needs of the situation at hand. The ICS provides guidelines on how various assets can be utilized in times of an emergency. These assets are supplied by the federal, state, and local authorities as well as NGOs and private organizations. The assets include human capital as well as machinery, and strategies that can help control the incident from getting out of hand. The assets also ensure the number of casualties remains minimal in the event of a disaster (FEMA, 2010).